Notes on a scorecard: Dominant Memphis inside game again vexes Spurs

The Grizzlies are throwbacks to the NBA teams of the past that pummeled opponents inside as their first priority.

No fancy jump shooting with this bunch. With behemoths like Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies leave their mark inside and let the rest take care of itself.

With Tim Duncan gone, it’s no surprise that Memphis notched a 111-104 victory in a game that was keyed by the Grizzlies’ success in the paint.

The Grizzlies hung 58 points against the Spurs in the paint. It marked the third-highest total of the season. The Spurs’ worst performance inside also came against Memphis when the Grizzlies notched 62 points inside in their March 1 victory.

Memphis had a 14-8 edge in points in the paint in the pivotal fourth quarter, coming back from a six-point deficit with 7:38 left in the game. Randolph accounted for 11 of Memphis’ 30 points. And the Grizzlies had an 11-4 edge in rebounds in the fourth quarter.

The Spurs’ inside defense and rebounding will pick up when Duncan is back. But with games against Portland and Boston looming this week, they probably wish he could come back sooner than expected.

“We don’t have time to worry about (injuries),” Spurs guard Tony Parker told reporters after the game. “Timmy is not coming back anytime soon, so we just have to keep playing and make sure we pound that rock and hopefully it will go our way.’”

Here are a few other notes and tidbits from the Spurs’ third straight loss — their longest losing streak since dropping four straight in the sweep by Phoenix in the playoffs last season.

Parker came off a career-high eight turnovers Friday against Portland to have five turnovers against Memphis. It matched his career high for turnovers in back-to-back games. He also had 13 turnovers in games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Finals against Utah in 2007. The Spurs won both of those games.

Before limping off the court early in the third quarter with a left thigh contusion, Manu Ginobili scored two points on 1-for-3 shooting. It was the lowest scoring game for Ginobili since he went 0-for-10 from the field in a two-point effort at Oklahoma City on Jan. 13, 201o. It also matched the lowest point total for Ginobili in a game he started, set four times previously and most recently set in an injury-shortened game Nov. 18, 2009, at Dallas.

The Spurs received a huge boost from their bench, keyed by George Hill’s game-high 30-point effort. San Antonio’s bench outscored Memphis, 56-42. And the San Antonio bench hit 20-for-31 from the field (64.5 percent), compared to 19-for-46 from the field (41.3 percent) for the starters.

Hill’s 30-point effort tied his career high, set March 31, 2010, against Houston. His 9-for-12 shooting effort (75 percent) marked his best shooting percentage in his career in a game with at least 10 shots. He also hit 11-of-12 from the line, setting career highs in both categories.

His big game helped Hill bust out of a recent slump. In his last six games before Sunday, Hill had hit 33.3 percent from the field, 26.7 percent from beyond the 3-point line and averaged 7.0 points per game.

Parker added 20 points, hitting 8-for-20 from the field. His 40 percent shooting was his worst game since hitting 1-for-3 against Memphis in the game where he was injured. It was his biggest scoring game since he torched Dallas for 33 points on March 18. Parker had five turnovers, marking the fifth time in his last 26 games with at least five miscues.

Richard Jefferson scored 13 points, including nine points on three 3-pointers in the first quarter. It was his largest scoring game since scoring 14 points against Washington on Feb. 12. And Jefferson’s first foul shot against Memphis was a miss, snapping a 16-foul shot streak without a miss dating to the March 9 game against Detroit.

With Ginobili missing, Gary Neal was a perimeter threat with 11 points, including 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point arc. It continues a recent mini-streak where he’s averaged 15.0 points, shot 58.6 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc in his last three games.

DeJuan Blair was active with eight points and a team-best six rebounds along with two assists and two steals. Blair has scored at least eight points in five of his last eight games. Since his benching March 9, Blair is shooting 50.9 percent from the field and averaging 7.7 points and 5.5 rebounds.

Tiago Splitter produced seven points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Splitter is hitting 63.3 percent from the field over his last six games and averaging 8.0 points and 7.8 rebounds over his last five games. His two blocked shots matches the second-highest total this season. Splitter did not play in the fourth quarter.

Since he was blanked in back-to-back games against Miami and Dallas on March 14 and 18, Matt Bonner has averaged 7.6 points per game in his last five games. He hit 1-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc against Memphis. Since going 6-for-7 against Miami on March 4, Bonner is hitting 27.0 percent from beyond the arc in his last 11 games.

Ginobili’s 19:18 of playing time was his third-lowest of the season. His two field-goal attempts were the lowest in a game where he’s started in his career and the fewest since he took no shots in two minutes against the Clippers on Dec. 22, 2007.

Steve Novak produced no statistics in 35 seconds of game action. After averaging 11.7 points per game in his previous three games, Novak has been blanked in back-to-back games. It’s the first time he’s failed to score in back-to-back games since March 9 and 12 against Detroit and Houston.

James Anderson failed to score in 27 seconds of game action, grabbing a rebound. It’s the first time he’s been shut out since failing to score in three seconds of action March 18 against Dallas.

Antonio McDyess’ recent mini-slump continued. He was 3-for-8 from the field, dropping his field-goal percentage in his last three games to 34.8 percent from the field. He had two steals and two blocked shots, marking the second time this season he’s had two steals and two blocked shots in the same game. In 10 games as a starter, he’s averaging 6.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. San Antonio is 6-4 in those games.

Memphis’ five starters were a combined plus-39 in plus-minus. San Antonio’s starters were minus-33. San Antonio’s bench was minus-2. Memphis’ bench was minus-4.

Blair had the highest plus-minus for the Spurs at plus-2. Ginobili, Hill and Bonner were plus-1. Parker had the lowest score at minus-18. McDyess was minus-13.

Danny Green did not play. Chris Quinn was inactive.

It’s the Spurs longest regular-season losing streak since the team dropped three straight last season with home losses to Utah, Houston and Chicago from Jan. 20-25, 2010.

The three-game sweep on the road was the first time the Spurs have lost all games of a three-game road trip since losing to New Orleans, Detroit and Philadelphia on March 12-15, 2008.

The Spurs’ defensive woes continue as Memphis shot 54.5 percent from the field — highest by an opponent against them since Utah hit 54.7 percent on Jan. 26. When opponents shoot 50 percent or better, the Spurs are 6-11, including 3-9 on the road.

San Antonio’s 27 rebounds were their lowest single-game total this season. And their minus-13 rebounding margin was their fifth-largest of the season.

Ball movement for the Spurs was stagnant for much of the game as they produced only 15 assists, including only one in the third quarter. In the seven games where the Spurs have 15 assists or less, they are 2-5.

The Spurs shot 50.6 percent from the field, marking the third time in five games the Spurs have hit 50 percent or better. They are 23-3 for the season when hitting at least 50 percent, with two of the losses coming in their last two games.

Memphis produced 115 points against the Spurs, becoming the second team in three games to score at least 110 points and the ninth opponent this season. The Spurs record when an opponent scores 110 or more points is 4-5. When an opponent scores at least 100, San Antonio is 18-9.

Gregg Popovich’s second-quarter ejection marked the second of the season. The Spurs are 1-1 in those games after earlier winning against Minnesota on Dec. 3.